The Criminal Contraptions of Nautilus
by PRIVATE Corp
Summary: The young boy prodigy Nautilus begins his quest to find the elusive Candied Island before his famous grandfather does, using only his wits and mechanical devices in his daunting quest for sweets.


Hello, once again. Cory of PRIVATE Corp here and I am going forth with a sequel, this time to my _No Sugar Act_ Flapjack fan-fiction... and now I'm focusing on my original character Nautilus. This time around I am doing this differently, as I am focusing on doing journal entries in the third person, giving you an idea on how things play out as we get into this story.

So... what this is going to be about? Well, this is focusing on Nautilus and his interest in machinery, hence the title of this story. If this is a real thing, you'll be seeing a lot of steampunk going on in this story. And I do mean a lot. Also I am bringing back familiar faces from the show and going forth with my theory about where Candied Island is.

Legal Stuff: **I DO NOT own _the Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack_. _Flapjack_ is copyrighted by mastermind Mark "Thurop" van Orman. I do, however, own any original content mention in this story.**

**

* * *

**

The Criminally Contraptions of Nautilus  
Prologue: A Day at the Barrel

OOO

_Stormalong Harbor  
9:34 p.m., Aug. 12 1887_

Time is a factor that remains to leave an impact on the world around, changing things as seconds pass into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days, and so on and so forth. Time is a master of its own domain, shaping the very fabric surrounding the way people live to alter them to unknown products. This mysterious being known as Time has also alter the surrounding where the people live, aging the materials just the same way as it ages people, making the landscape and scenery elderly as the residents.

Stormalong Harbor is a good example of aging through the times, as the harbor has seen its best and worst times in the years. The town has been through a lot during a great age of exploration, and that age is still lagging on, bringing all sorts of interesting people pass through the docks as they set sail across the ocean to explore the open world. And during these visits lead to the harbor being under fire by the rogue pirates that still plague the seas, supply shortages, and the occasion plague that will infect the town.

But when the town is not caught in trouble, Stormalong is a peaceful little floating harbor in the middle of the vast ocean. During the days of peace, the rustic Candy Barrel is the place to get a quick fix on some sugary sweets before heading back into the world to explore the vastness. On this particular day, the Candy Barrel is filled up with sailors, pirates and adventurers all crowding up the booths, with all of them having glasses of candy in their hands and many of them talking up a storm of various tales of adventures that is happening in the world.

In the center of the barrel-shaped building is a bar to tend to the customers that couldn't find a seat at the booths or there to get a quick round of sweets. There are two bartenders working behind the counter, with one being a young boy wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, a red and white striped shirt with two bands wrap on his upper arms, a pair of brown pants and a pair of fancy black shoes; and the other being a woman made out of solid candy, with the exception of her purple dress and her gold crown. They are working through with the customers at the bar, filling up glasses and sending them out to the others that are staying at the Candy Barrel.

"Hey barkeep, fill her up," shouted one customer.

"Coming right up sir," replied the boy, taking the man's glass and sliding over to a tap. He presses down and dispenses candy into the empty glass, filling it up to the brim before handing the glass back to the man. "There you go; one fresh mug of..."

The man takes the glass and chugs the candy down his throat, leaving not a single drop in the mug glass. He then slams the glass down on the counter and he bellows out a belch right into the young bartender's face. "Around round right here,' the man said.

"You know, you're going to pay for these extra rounds," the bartender said, taking off his glasses to clean them off. "I'm not going to keep filling your glass just because you say so."

"And what are you going to do about that, runt?" threatens the man, getting up from his stool to stare down the boy. "In case those glasses aren't helping you, I'm a lot bigger than you, and you don't have a single bit of strength on that squany body of yours."

With this statement, some of the other men at the counter got up as well, showing off a wide variety of dangerous looking pirates and adventurers at this bar counter. The young bartender stumbles back behind the counter, trying to get away from the men that want to hurt him, until he remembers an important tactic he was taught when he got caught in this situation. The boy reaches over to where the female bartender is and drags her in front of him, using her as a shield to prevent the fists from hurting him. When the men saw the woman slide in front, they back away from the counter and they begin to settle down.

"Yeah, that's right, you better back away," the boy said. "You know what happens if you damage Miss Candies here."

"Still, if she is getting in the way, we can still come around on the sides," the man said, pounding his fists.

The others shout heartily with this statement as they approach the counter once again. The boy begins to quiver behind the candy woman, fearing that this is his last moment alive on this world, until he hears something that gave him more time on the world. He peeks around the woman to see that the men are frozen stiff, petrified by the sudden snap that is still echoing throughout the building. Then he notices who made the noise and he is shock to see who made it.

Sitting at the bar is a man with his feet up on the counter, feet cross and the black boots dangling over the edge. The man is wearing a pair of dark turquoise pants, a striped shirt with the colors of dark gold and blood maroon, and a dark red coat over top his shirt. He haves a pair of brown gloves on his hands, with his left arm partly exposed from the coat's sleeve to reveal some sort of mechanical device on his wrist and in his right hand is a flint-lock pistol pointing straight up. And the man's face is completely cover, with a dark green scarf wrapping around the lower half of his face, a pair of goggles covering his eyes, and a red captain's hat with a white X on his hat, sitting on top of his spiky black hair.

This very man sitting at the counter fired his gun, cutting the men that were going to hurt the young bartender.

"Now gentlemen, why bother hurting the child?" asked the newcomer. "He hasn't done anything to upset you."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" an adventurer asked. "You think you can come in here and act like a big..."

Suddenly, the masked man jumps from his seat and sticks the barrel into the speaking adventurer's face. "Obviously you have no idea who you're messing with here, pal," the man said. "I'm pretty quick on my feet and if you value your life, I better shut it before I pull the trigger."

Then the captain turns to see that the whole room beginning to rise up and every man draw out their weapons so that they can fight this newcomer. The bartenders got out of the way so that they will not be in the cross-fire, waiting for one of them to make a move. As they wait, the masked captain gives a quick survey around the room, seeing that most of the adventurers in the room are carrying swords on their personals.

The captain lets out an inaudible chuckle before bursting out laughing. "You adventurers really think that you can beat me with those swords?" he shouted. "Have you ever figured that you shouldn't really bring them to a gun fight?"

"Again, who the hell do you think you are?" asked another adventurer.

Just as the masked captain reaches for another pistol, he turns to face the counter and the bartenders hiding. "Boy, what is your name?" he asked.

The young bartender looks up and he got himself up to face the crowd of angry adventurers. "Why... it's Wintergreen Adam," the boy said.

"Ah yes, Wintergreen... Named after Mt. Wintergreen on Candied Island, right?" asked the masked captain.

The young bartender is stunned. "How... How did you know?"

"Simple. What you are looking at here is the very man that discovered Candied Island!"

Now it is the whole room that is stunned. They could not believe that a man that is foolish enough to get himself into a large bar fight has gone to tell the whole room that he found the very island legends speak of. A brave, yet foolish looking man as this masked captain has gone forth and done the impossible: he went and discovered where Candied Island is. But, this is to go forth and leave many to ask...

"How exactly could you discover Candied Island?" asked one adventurer. "That island has been eluding us for more than centuries, and yet here you are saying that you found the island?"

"Why would I lie about me going to Candied Island?" the masked captain answered. "Do you want me to show you proof?"

The room replies with a "yes" and the captain reaches into his coat to find the proof. He found what he is looking for and he draws it out into the open, with the whole room in shock by the sudden appearance of the proof. There, in the middle of the captain's fingers, is a black eye-patch, and this is no ordinary eye-patch.

"This here belonged to the very creature that terrorized the Sea of Teeth, the one place no one has never even thought of looking for Candied Island without coming out of alive," the captain said, showing off the eye-patch. "This very creature is the soul guardian to Candied Island next to Poseidon, and he can sure put up one hell of a fight. I'm sure that you all know what this creature's name is...

"Eight Armed Willy."

Instead of the room being stunned from this statement, everyone is a state of petrified. They all know about the infamous Eight Armed Willy, a gigantic octopus that haunts the Sea of Teeth and is known for taking down a whole fleet of ships. But what is getting them stiff as boulders is that this mysterious captain is saying that he took down Eight Armed Willy and took his eye-patch as a trophy for the battle. This very captain, the one who fired a shot into the roof of the Candy Barrel, who stated that he discovered Candied Island, and now saying that he defeated Eight Armed Willy to prove that he found Candied Island, is showcasing the eye-patch all around for everyone to see.

Whoever this mysterious masked captain is, he has gotten himself into a tight situation.

"Wait a minute... are you saying that you took down Eight Armed Willy by _yourself_?" asked one pirate.

"Not just by myself. I did have a crew to back me when we were trying to find Candied Island," replied the masked captain.

"You're bluffing! There's no way that you and your crew could have taken down Eight Armed Willy!"

"Uh, are you forgetting about what Lord Flapjack did several years back?" asked the young Wintergreen Adam.

"Lord Flapjack?" echoed the captain. "What has he done to earn title as a lord?"

"Well, after some time, the boy became a local hero to all of us," Adam said. "He did some amazing things during his youth, even making claims that he found Candied Island as well, and everyone here in Stormalong appreciated him enough to gain him lordship."

The masked captain gives the young bartender a silent stare before tilting his head slightly lower and lets out a small chuckle. "That fool... he thinks that he can follow me to Candied Island and claim it as his own," he said.

"What are you saying about Lord Flapjack?" snapped another adventurer. "You have a grudge against the Lord?"

"I wouldn't call it a grudge," the captain said, sitting down at the bar. "I would say it's more of a history, going back to when we first met and then leading up to our last encounter at Candied Island."

"So are you going to tell us your tale?" asked Wintergreen Adam.

"Yeah, are you going to tell us how you defeated Eight Armed Willy?" asked one adventurers, with others pitching in.

"In due time, gentlemen," the masked captain replied. "For now, I'm going to tell you how I began, and then tell you my story..."

OOO

_Mother Island  
08:12 a.m., Jan. 01 1856_

_Before there was a new monarch at the throne to tame the law, the water is teeming with pirates taking on several ships a day, stealing riches and keeping them to themselves. But the ocean was not always control by the pirates, as there are the adventurers, who made a reputation of exploring the waters for new and exotic locations for the fast-growing population to branch out. And out of those adventurers is none other than the famous Captain Adventure, who gained his name for the many adventures that he has partaken in and for outrageous and daring those adventures are._

_The whole world knows who Captain Adventure is, as he tries his best to get his name out across the ocean, but they only used his nickname. No one knows for sure why Captain Adventure does not have a real name, but it is to believe that he grew bored of it and stick with Adventure as a name. With the name in tact, he went out to explore the ocean waters, searching high and low for the mysterious Candied Island and its elusive sweets._

_But along the journey, he had built a crew of hardy young men who eventually got eliminated by the numerous factors or left Adventure to be part of their own crew. This may have devastated Adventure, but if it weren't for the Candy of Youth, he would have not gained a much larger crew and continue to build throughout the years. It was during this time that Captain Adventure found his future wife, which brings forth a child that is Adventure's own son. But what Adventure saw in his son is that he son will never be a successful adventurer like his father._

_As the time passed, the son eventually got married to a beautiful wife, and she then gave birth to a boy, the one that will change Adventure's life forever. When Adventure heard about the news, he rushed to Mother Island to see the child for himself, and he knew right then and there that this boy will take on his legacy and become a prodigy in the world of adventuring. And it was at that moment that Adventure named him the very name that will bring him much grief._

_That very boy name is "Nautilus," named after the very shell that his grandfather, Captain Adventure, heard the news from._

_Nautilus grew up as many children growing up around him, except that he had a famous adventurer for a grandfather and he wasn't like the other children on the island. He was more fond of mechanical devices than simple childish games, and he viewed the sea as his true home than the land. He knew back then that he was going to be greater than his grandfather, and he knew it as well, for that it was nearing close to the eighty year mark for the Candy of Youth._

_As soon as the Candy of Youth left his grandfather's system, Captain Adventure suddenly transformed into a wrinkly old man, which made him useless to go out back into the world and sail the ocean. Nautilus viewed this a great time for him, as he not only got to know his grandfather better, but this got him time to plan out a way for him to know where the exact location of Candied Island is and head there by himself. Of course, this meant that he had to behave around his grandfather if he wants to go to Candied Island._

_Over the course of time, Nautilus matured into a young boy, allowing him to grow his interests in sea-travel and mechanical device. As he got older, he began to tinker around with things he could find, disassembling them and rebuilding them just to see how they work. And to go along with his fare on sea-travel, his father gave him a book about the many tales adventurers told throughout time and how they became well-known. This has finally caught young Nautilus' attention and he wanted to become a full-time adventurer._

_But, due to that he wasn't ready for the world, and that there wasn't a suitable captain or crew on Mother Island, he was grounded to the land for a year. During that time, he tried to convince his grandfather to take him out on the water, but due to that he aged for a very long time from the Candy of Youth, being out in the world would only knock Adventure out. But that didn't stop Nautilus to realize his dream of beating his grandfather to Candied Island._

_After so many attempts, Adventure finally gave in and he took Nautilus out into the world, showing him to the many locations that the former great adventurer visited during his more youthful times. As they sailed, they soon caught glimpse of the Candy of Youth, and this has led to them thinking of that if they want to get to Candied Island, they are going to need the Candy of Youth to find it. And so, they took up resident at Mirage Island to write up a lie that eventually got islands and towns to cut off their sugar supplies and go into lackasugaritis._

OOO

And this has led to today's story of Nautilus and his quest to beat his grandfather, Captain Adventure, at his game in finding the mysterious Candied Island.

* * *

Well, that will begin my story for Nautilus. ...Really? That's how I am going to begin it? Well, I'm not sure what I am doing here, but here's my best reason for this prologue.

You see, I haven't really describe much about Nautilus in _the No Sugar Act & the Candy of Youth_, including Captain Adventure, and I figure that this may tell you a bit about their history. Plus, you also notice how different Nautilus is to Flapjack is from the show. I'm just telling you the basic for what is going to happen during the main story.

So, I also told the story in the future, saying that the masked captain has killed Eight Armed Willy and found Candied Island. What does this all mean? Well, you just have to read to find out.

Please, I like for you all to review, thank you very much.


End file.
